By DPA,
New York : A rise in oil prices helped drive US stocks higher Wednesday together with improved forecasts for some of the country’s top banks.
Crude oil jumped 4.1 percent to $68.81 per barrel in New York, spurring a rally in energy companies including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
Financial stocks gained as some analysts recommended buying the shares of prominent banks, including Goldman Sachs, which could be granted approval to pay back government loans as soon as next week.
Markets began their rally after a government report found weekly jobless claims fell for the first time in nearly five months, a sign that the worst of the country’s deepest recession since the Great Depression may be over.
US firms have shed more than 5.7 million jobs since the start of the recession in December 2007. Monthly jobs figures to be released by the Labour Department on Friday are certain to bring that number above 6 million.
Stock indices posted gains for the fifth time in the last six days.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74.96 points, or 0.86 percent, to 8,750.24. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 10.7 points, or 1.15 percent, to 942.46. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 24.1 points, or 1.32 per cent, to 1,850.02.
The dollar edged lower against the euro to 70.50 euro cents from 70.63 euro cents on Wednesday. The dollar also rose against the Japanese currency to 96.69 yen from 95.97 yen.